Root Zone continues my work on the relationship between the natural environment and me; a relationship of meaning and materiality that constructs, cultivates and reviews a poetics of responsibility. It is a relationship that advocates an intelligent ecology based on values that are immanent in the complex workings of nature. Between ethics, ecology and aesthetics I hope for my work to find a new ground in a generative programme of intensive care to influence our responsibilities as gardeners of the public domain.

In recent years great attention has been paid to the complex dynamics of ecological systems and how, in practice, we can think in terms of urban, social, political and even cultural ecologies. My soil works are situated on this shared ground of possibility, where the artificial distinction between nature and culture will no longer make sense. Seeing Nature as both affect and effect, tied into the multiple ecologies of humanity, we can re-evaluate its transformative potential in the complex workings of everyday life. A social ecology, in a state of co-creation with the natural environment, could provide the practical grounds for addressing the question of how to properly constitute the well being of contemporary life.

The Root Zone project is the cultivation of the area of land under the tree that is outside of our house. Once the soil had been prepared I planted numerous herbs and strawberry plants in the zone. The affect on people living local has been very positive with people harvesting herbs and taking cuttings.

Root Zone is a work that gives me the opportunity to grow and harvest plants in a public space. These plants are used in particular projects. Currently the harvesting of these plants is involved in both Local History and Synthia II projects. Each project uses the zone as a harvesting area for material and thought.

Root Zone will continue to be cultivated as a space for future transaction, works and thoughts.